Simplicity
by Virtue
Summary: Noctis must recover from his wounds in Altissia before resuming the pursuit of the one responsible. Will be a series of oneshots about a reunion with the one who helped him during a recovery 12 years ago. Spoilers, fluff, slightly AU.
1. Part I

A/N: Disclaimer stuff. I love this pair. I love them so much that I'm doing the unthinkable (for me) and writing a short and pointless AU-ish fic for my own selfish sense of fulfillment, which is something I've never cared for, however I think Luna had too much potential. This will likely span several chapters and contain some sensuality, thought nothing above the "T" rating.

This is a strictly Noct/Luna fic, with minimal appearance of other characters because 1) whenever I tried to incorporate any other characters it got to crazy, and 2) These two have such rich and incredible chemistry to me that it's enough to dwell on it.

Part I

Brilliant light gleamed through the windows that towered from their peak at the ceiling of the room. Noctis let out a low groan as he stumbled into the room. Prompto and Ignis did their best to encourage him to rest while she was sent for but he had to see her for himself. The rite had brought salty seawater that had burned his throat and his eyes as he fought to prove himself to the goddess And Luna... her blue eyes shutting on him, only a mere feet away. Ardyn left as suddenly as he came. And Noctis could do nothing but react.

He felt a faint piercing pain somewhere in his chest. The flaxen haired preteen who welcomed him into her room as a wheelchair bound child was something of a dream to him growing up. He remembered her room was decorated in hues of ivory, gold, and shades of blue, somewhat from the sylleblossoms she'd grown acquainted with in her childhood.

They talked for hours, and though they had only met for several days, Luna could talk as though she had known him her entire life. He arrived in her home as a scared, traumatized boy and she coaxed him back to normalcy somewhat, and he emerged as "normal" as he could be.

The years that followed were a whirlwind of processional coming of age events for Noctis. Occasionally the pages of her notebook came to him scented, something he presumed was only an innocent custom of noblewomen in Tenebrae, but as a teenage adolescent in his own apartment it drove him to insanity at times thinking of her- the beautiful blonde haired princess he'd only met as a boy and seen on TV and in photographs was marking the pages of the notebook they shared.

Unknown to him, somewhere miles away the Princess of Tenebrae watched every little news story with video footage of him with special interest, while being careful as to not alert any Imperial's present of any potential interest or contact she could be having with the Lucian Prince.

And there she was before him now, the back of her head facing him in a single bold ray of light. A single braid lay across the crown of hear head, which faced him as she faced the window across from him, white light reflecting from her hair.

"Luna!" Noctis gasped.

In all of the dreams and nightmares he'd been having as of late, he was unsure of which side of the spectrum this was. Would she die again? Would it be at his own hands, or the hands of the empire this time? He didn't care at this point- he'd watched her stabbed with Ardyn's blade, and watched as her blood seeped through the white gown she wore for the ritual.

At this point he didn't care about the reality of this vision, he only wanted a moment with the woman he'd longed for all these years, despite that moment being in the midst of a dream or a nightmare.

"Noctis! You're awake!" The slender woman was facing him now, bracing the arms her brown wicker chair slowly as she stood, and winced noticeably as she did so. "T-The nurse told me not to move so sudden so forgive me I-"

Her words were cut short as Noctis briskly limped across the room and embraced her. He buried his face into the crook of her neck, with soft wisps of pale hair caressing his forehead from the breeze of the open window.

One always craves the simplicity granted in childhood, and for Noctis that simplicity was now contained in his grasp for the first time in years.

Luna returned the embrace softly. She longed for this reunion as much as he, but in all the events that took place since their political engagement, the desperation was intensified. She had premonitions and visions from the astrals for years now, and at times doubted if she'd ever see Noctis in the flesh again.

And she had. He was taller, he was solid, and she could feel his chest rise and fall with every breath as he breathed her in. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She loved him. In her many years of captivity she had fantasized about this reunion. Though the circumstances were less than ideal, she could feel the warmth from his body, and he was completely present- flesh and hair and voice and systems that made him alive where pressed against her. He swayed a little and she realized how unsteady he was from his wounds.

A sharp pain in her side warned her of any further exertion. "Noctis-" she said softly, "I have to sit down, I'm sorry."

He pulled back, looking down on her brow furrowed in pain inquisitively, and eased her back down into the chair, lowering himself on the the end table adjacent to it.

"You were stabbed..." His eyes bore into her sharply, full of emotion. It was the most genuine thing she'd ever been able to witness in another person. Unbeknownst to him, Noctis had that look even as a small child. She remembered the sweet little boy who visibly lit up when he noticed her enter the room.

Lunafreya pulled her white blouse up from where it was tucked into her high waisted skirt, and tugged the top hem of her skirt down some, revealing her freshly changed bandages.

"I was. I was brought the the hospital some time after the rite and I'm told they 'worked' on me. I had several drains from my wounds for several days afterward." She watched his clear blue eyes widen "But they've been removed. I've been meaning to return to the hospital to thank everyone. They were full to capacity and yet they saved my life."

Her gaze refocused on his sadly. "But I'm afraid I won't be able to make any trips anytime soon."

Noctis leaned forward and took her hand in one of his, resting it gingerly on her knee. His other reached to cup her cheek, a tender gesture she instinctively settled into.

"I'm so sorry, Luna. I should've-"

Her hand clutched his on her knee, causing him to pause. "No need. We both did what needed to be done."

Noctis looked down and sighed, before sucking air in through his teeth. "Yeah, I guess."

"And now it seems that I've earned some scars of my own, like you." She added playfully, quickly regretting her words as she realized how her words stung him. It wasn't her intention.

The Lucian Prince lightly squeezed her hands in his as if to tell her not to fret. He understood her better than anyone, and he knew that making light of terrible situations was what kept her in good spirits throughout the years of being a captive of the Empire, the extent of which he wasn't sure if he would ever know-or if he ever wanted to.

In the moments that followed, Noctis gently leaned forward and touched her cheek. After all these years of silly and anxious exchanges through the notebook, their engagement that was only enshrouded in tragedy. She sat before him in the flesh.

Luna's eye's locked on his and Noctis felt a breath get caught in his throat.

Perhaps if this were a novel or a movie he could declare his love for her, and tell her that he could not rest until they ran far, far away together. They could have a small wedding ceremony and and live out their days in a tiny studio apartment somewhere. He could worker as a hunter and provide for her. And he knew Luna wanted nothing more than freedom to roam.

But this wasn't a novel, this was the real world where they were bound by duty with too much at stake to ignore. It seemed Ardyn was always ten steps ahead of him and quite frankly, he felt greedy for the amount of time he and his companions would require just to recover in Altissia before continuing the pursuit of Ardyn. They had both come so close to death many times already, and there would be more close calls to come.

He'd heard the Oracle's voice via TV broadcast over the years, but for now it was only his to hear. He studied her face framed by his hand, it was ungloved and bare. Lunafreya relaxed into him. She looked older then she had even the day of the rite. Tender blue eyes were now framed by darkening circles and new creases at the corners. His callouses grazed her skin ever so slightly as he pulled her towards him, pressing a gentle kiss on her future was uncertain, but for now he was hers.

"Luna, thank you for everything." He murmured, lips barely and inch from her forehead. "You can rest now. You've been tough."

Luna lifted her head slightly and resumed eye contact. They were brow to brow now and she was scanning his face, eyes flitting in between his own.

"I have to give you something."


	2. Part II

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! This next chapter is a bit more physical, as two people who're attracted to one another would be when they first reunite! I also love the simple and sweet nature of their relationship. There's something so pure about a childhood love (with high stakes) like this, so that is what I'm hoping to convey by incorporating more of the childhood Noctis/Luna.

Part II

Several days after Noctis awoke in the Nox Fleuret household in Tenebrae, it poured outside. The little prince watched sullenly from a great window in the hall as water rushed from the sky with a great _hiss._ Wet air wafted around him, smelling of drenched soil. His lids were heavy like his heart, partly from his longing to climb the great trees that lined the woods surrounding the manor, and partly from exhaustion.

Since waking from the coma, he hadn't slept like he used to. He instead lay awake, irrationally anticipating for something awful to happen, something violent and senseless. And when he did finally drift off the sleep in the wee hours of the morning just before the dawn, he'd dream of the marilith, and woke again in a panic.

Regis wasn't oblivious to it. He'd seen grown men affected by such trauma. As a father he was heartbroken and at a loss, but as a King he had other matters to attend to. He appointed a security detail to accompany the prince during the day and to guard his room at night. He was unsure if the tight security did more for his own peace of mind or Noctis's.

A door opened to his left and Noctis turned to see the Tenebrean princess shut the door behind her and gracefully walk to where he sat in his wheelchair. She was wearing a yellow sleeveless dress, and her arms were covered by a silver shawl she had tightly wrapped in her crossed arms, protecting her from the damp chill of the outside breeze. She appeared to illuminate the room in contrast to the drab black attire of both him and the Lucian soldiers posted nearby.

"Good morning." She chimed, her voice crisp in the hum of the rain pattering against the windows. "I think the rainy season's begun."

"Rainy season?" Noctis looked up at her now as she stood next to him, studying the view that he'd found himself lost in all morning.

"Yes. Every year we get rain like this constantly- that's how the trees get so big."

"Oh." Noctis replied, looking longingly to the lush forest before them. It never rained like this in Insomnia.

"You want to climb that one, don't you." Lunafreya motioned to the tallest tree before them.

Noctis shrugged. He was self conscious around older kids in general, feeling the pressure since an extremely young age to act and talk older than he really was. Did she think climbing trees would be silly for a prince?

"I dunno."

Lunafreya knelt beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder. She leaned in close and spoke softly, so as to not let the prince's security hear what she was saying.

"When you're out of this chair, I'll take you. We'll climb it together, okay?"

Rain spilled from the sky, rushing the stone streets of Altissia. The entire waterfront end of the city was in ruins from Leviathan's trial, but the central city on the upper levels were mostly intact due to the swift evacuation efforts minimal residents were wounded.

' _How many more?'_ Lunafreya thought to herself, watching the people in the streets below the covered balcony where she sat. They had scattered in the onset of the rain, standing under whatever convenient cover was available close by to wait it out.

Her abdomen throbbed. A nurse had come to change her bandages not long ago, and like any other time the pain was unbearable. She of course held in any signs of discomfort, save only for an occasional tear rolling from her eye.

It was a daily routine now- the nurse would come and she would ask her to lock the door, as a precaution should Noctis happen to come by during the dressing change. It wasn't out of modesty, but rather she wanted to avoid having him see the full extent of her injury. Her time with him now was precious and she selfishly wanted it to go on forever, also knew Noctis's rightful destiny wasn't to fraternize with her in a foreign city.

The nurse had rolled her eyes when she declined pain medications after the dressing change, and slid two small white pills in a plastic container across the table to her regardlless.

"Just in case you change your mind. Pain control is essential to healing, madam."

Lunafreya instead made her way to the double doors of the balcony, opening them wide and resting on the wicker couch over looking the city. The pain wasn't nearly as bad if she curled into the fetal position, and so she did, letting the sea'a breeze caress her face as she did so.

She awoke hours later to a gentle touch on her shoulder. She eyes fluttered open. It was dark. Glowing yellow lights from the city gleamed somewhere and Noctis was knelt in front of wear she lay, leaning on a cane for support.

"Hey sleepyhead."

She jolted upright. The sudden movement elicited a sharp pain from her belly and she hand shot to the source of the pain out of instinct."

The prince's clear blue eyes narrowed as he rose upright. "You... okay?"

Luna nodded, her single loose braid coming loose as the elastic has fallen out as some point during her nap.

"I'm alright." She managed a smile and moved her hands to rub her arms from the goosebumps forming on them instead. She eyed him slyly, careful to not alert him of any potential lack of ambivalence she had, which was due to her lack of presentability. She only wore a white cotton sleeveless nightgown and he was dressed more than she had become accustomed to, dressed handsomely in a fleece black V-neck sweater over a t-shirt of the same color.

"You need something warmer." He observed aloud, more to himself than to her. "I'll get you something."

Noting that a protest wouldn't suffice, she called after him. "My robe is on the bathroom door!"

He emerged several moment later with the white robe, passing it to her as he leaned over his cane.

"You want dinner?" The black haired man jerked his head to the table by the couch where she lay.

She rubbed her eyes in between inserting her arms through the sleeves. "Is it that time already?"

"It was that time hours ago. You in the mood for fish?"

Lunafreya smiled and accepted the hand he reached out to pull her all the way upright. He then pulled the table over so that it was in front of her before easing himself back down beside her. These days and nights had become something of a routine.

She couldn't help but let the prince with a cane remind her of Regis, though their circumstances for using one were different. Noctis had sustained several signification lacerations from Leviathan's scales to the right side of his body, including over the joint in his hip. The cane allowed just enough support so as to not stress the leg so much when moving.

"None for you?" She inquired.

"I already ate. But I brought refreshment." Noctis nodded to the bottle on the table before leaning forward to uncork it. Ignis, though newly disabled, hadn't lost his taste for what wines were best with what occasion and meal. Noctis hadn't inherited his father's love for red wine, but tolerated it at certain events since his adolescence simply because he was expected to.

Lunafreya laughed heartily. Taking in the plate of white fish over steamed vegetables and rice before her. "You couldn't come to alert me?"

"Prompto did. He said you were sleeping." Noctis sucked in air. "He's.. weird about situations like that sometimes." He poured each of the two glasses on the table half full. "He offered to help me bring all this stuff up here to you instead."

She laughed again, nodding to thank him for the glass and sipped. "Whatever for?"

"I'm not sure. It's Prompto." Noctis lay back onto the weatherproof cushions and clasped his hands behind his head and sighed. He still wasn't used to this ease of Luna's company after years of yearning for her beyond the writings in a notebook.

"This is delicious." She said after several moments of silence when she'd been eating. "Is this Ignis's doing?

Noctis lost his relaxed composure and leaning forward, crossing his arms over his knees, still looking out on the city.

"No, Ignis hasn't done any cooking since..."

"Oh. That's right." Luna cursed herself silently for failing to remember in the moment. The man who had devoted nearly his entire life in service of the crown prince was now blinded during a blast from the Empire's attack.

"How is he? I haven't seen him or Gladiolus. I thought you would all be inseparable."

Noctis shrugged. "He's fine, all things considered. He still comes to dinner with the rest of us." The prince paused before continuing, as if unsure of how to say the next part, "And Gladio is in kind of a weird mood."

"A weird mood?" Lunafreya inquired, hungerly scraping the last of her plate. Unbeknownst to the prince this was the first she'd eaten all day.

"Yeah. He's anxious to get back on the road ,I think. But we all are."

Though the rain had ceased, the residual drips of water still pattered from the roof over the balcony as the streets below because repopulated in the moonlight. Altissia truly was a romantic city. Music washed over them from below.

He only had a few sips but the red wine was settling warmly in his belly. He felt a pleasant euphoric feeling. He had thrown several beers back with his friends since leaving Insomnia, but never had anything quite like this in a while.

Luna sipped her wine and inched closer to him on the couch, closing the space between them and rested her to his shoulder, knees drawn to her chest and hands cupping her glass.

They had exchanged several sweet gestures since reuniting several days ago. Sometimes he'd grab her hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb. An occasional soft kiss to the brow. The sweetest of all was how he looked at her- like he was really studying her, as if she was a ghost who suddenly came to life again.

And with that thought, Noctis leaned into her, wrapping an arm around her as they sat, taking in the wounded city in silence and the remainder of the rain washed over it.

His hand grazed her arm. It was then that she remembered the burning question she had for him over the last day or so.

"Where's the ring?"

Noctis tensed beside her. "It's... in my pocket."

"So many have desired it. It was meant for you. Why don't you wear it? It's rightfully yours." She looked up at him, her brow slightly furrowed.

Noctis shifted uncomfortably, pulling the ring that Luna had delivered to him from his pocket. He turned it over in his palm several times as Luna watched, unable to produce the words.

Luna reached a hand from her glass and covered the ring in his palm with it. "I understand."

He felt foolish. He wasn't ignorant to the fact that Luna had put her own life on the line during her escape of Insomnia and on the road since to return it to him. Or that his own father died to protecting her. They'd both shared their journeys so far and he felt a painful twisting sensation in his chest when he realized how alone she's been. It was all because of her devotion to him.

Luna pushed his hand back to his pocket as if to give him permission to put it away and reached up to trace his jaw, staring intently into his eyes to put him at ease.

"It's okay, Noctis. You can be hesitant." She looked down and then back up at him again, as if carefully thinking about exactly what she wanted him to know. "But soon I will need you to wear it. We all will."

Perhaps it was the wine, but he felt like a child again for a moment. He thought of her kneeling by his wheelchair as a child, and the glee he felt in his heart when she promised to take him to climb a tree by her home.

"I know." he half whispered. He gently brushed what remained of her braid from her shoulder. "I can't thank you enough for everything you've done."

He pulled her against him tightly. She felt the heavy hammering of his heart against her own and even in the midst of a cool night wearing a nightgown and robe she felt incredibly warm- the wine warmed her from her chest and her cheeks, and Noctis warmed her from where she was pressed against him.

Her fingertips moved from tracing his jawline to his ear. She felt him eyeing her with that damned gaze of his and she focused instead on where his jawline met his ear and her fingertips trailed there and breathed in deeply as she gently pulled his lips to hers, both slightly parted.

She trembled as the rush of it all washed over her. Music was still playing below, and someone called out to someone else in the streets below rather boisterously, but her breath was currently being pulled from her. It was just a gentle, chaste kiss, but her body reacted as though a jolt of electricity had shocked her. Her other hand trembled around her glass.

When they parted, his eyes slowly eased open as hers did the same. He was drunk. Not entirely from the wine as he hadn't had more than a few sips but the woman in his arms had him absolutely intoxicated with longing.

When she reopened her eyes she blushed and laughed nervously, drawing a hand to her chest. "I've never done that before."

Noctis smiled and pulled the glassed from her hand and setting it on the table before grasping her hand in his.

"I have, but in my mind it was you."

Her cheeks where burning both from the alcohol and from the fact that they were finally expressing the affect they'd harbored over twelve years. She felt a brief sting of irrational jealousy before quietly suppressing it. _Of course_ he'd kissed before. He was incredibly handsome and he had a normal adolescence compared to hers.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, fully embracing him now. Noctis trailed a hand up her arm and neck, pulling her chin upward towards him this time. Even in her most vulnerable state Luna was beautiful to any man. But to him she was beautiful in her boldness and her will, so much that she could travel unprotected and unaccounted for, simply because she knew what needed to be done. She always had been, and always would be a woman who's council he could use in every circumstance.

So his lips met hers again, his admiration spilling over as he breathed her in deeply and laced both hands through her hair, soft platinum blonde strands loosening around his fingers and Luna took the kiss in eagerly. She was more confident now than she had been with the last one, but still timid with her hands, keeping them wrapped around his neck.

Noctis moved a hand to her neck and cradled it gently, slowly breaking the kiss and pulling away. He looked down at her. The world was spiralling into chaos soon. Daemons were becoming more frequent and troublesome and Ardyn and the Empire where tightening their grasp, but in this moment they were both present and alive, warm and willful.

He kissed her again, chastely this time. He could've continued for as far as she was confident. He wanted to lay down with her, to see her wounds and to make love to her- but they were both still freshly wounded and recently reunited. Luna had been an Oracle from a young age and was more to him than a bride or a wife because she always lived with a purpose he could never fathom.

Luna smiled at him blissfully and snuggled back into the crook of his shoulder. There were more voices from below as the rain had cleared up. Noctis resumed his arm around her shoulder but held her closer than he did before, resting his chin on the top of her head. It was as if he desired to keep her from fading into thin air, they were so close to one another now. But she didn't mind at all, because it felt nice to have someone regard her so protectively after years of fending for herself and communicating with him in secret.

They sat like that for a while until just after midnight, occasionally stealing a glance or a soft kiss. Her thoughts wandered to speculation of what he was thinking about, to Ravus and Ardyn, and to the people she'd met on the road. As an oracle she found herself becoming a collector of stories.

 _'How many more?'_ she wondered for the second time that night, thinking of the lives of the people who needed and trusted her.


End file.
